Knowing that there was a swine flu outbreak at PAX, this Resident Evil 5 “Thriller” tribute takes on a new meaning. I suppose it’s called Biohazard in Japan for a reason. From the looks of it, no one seems to be coughing up a lung, but they do seem to have a case of zombie fever.

HALF-MINUTE HERO DEMO: I’ve been raving about Half-Minute Hero ever since I played at an Xseed event a while back. If you want to check out the game yourself, be sure to download the demo on the PlayStation Network Sept. 10. Trust me, if you grew up with the old 8-bit RPGs, you’ll get a kick out of it.

MADDEN NFL 10 NEWS: If those cheats items at the Madden shop don’t strike your fancy, then EA Sports is hoping that a new AFL Legacy Pack will entice you to lay down a couple of bucks. On Sept. 24, players can download the pack for $6.99 or 560 Microsoft Points. It includes a 1960s-style presentation with referees in orange uniforms and AFL markings everywhere. There’s even a classic film grain filter added on and new Achievements/Trophies.

And if that wasn’t enough, EA also showed off a bit of Madden NFL 2010 on the iPhone early this morning at the Apple shindig. If you want to download it, the game’s on sale at the iTunes App Store right now for $7.99.

BEATLES XBOX 360 CONSOLE STILL PRICEY: Remember when I said that the custom Beatles Xbox 360 console was going on sale on eBay for $760. Well now that price jumped up to $4,350. Yes, there are some intense Beatles fan out there and I’m not surprised. I expect this to go higher. And one last thing I forgot to mention about The Beatles: Rock Band yesterday. According to Joystiq, The game is compatible with Lips microphones so if you have the game, you may not need to go out and buy more mikes for that three-part harmony.

DREAMCAST GAME: If there were ever a cult console, Dreamcast would be it and on the machine’s 10th birthday, fans will be celebrating with a new game! Yes, the Senile Team announced that its homebrew title called Rush Rush Rally Racing will go on sale in October. The game even includes four-player multiplayer and an online high-score leaderboard.

Yes, you’re reading that right. Dark Sector, a game that once sold for $59.99, is now on sale on Amazon for the ridiculous price of 10 cents. Yes, if you have a dime buried in your couch cushions, you can… Continue Reading →

Yes, you’re reading that right. Dark Sector, a game that once sold for $59.99, is now on sale on Amazon for the ridiculous price of 10 cents. Yes, if you have a dime buried in your couch cushions, you can afford this game. The homeless guy hunting for plastic bottles in the trash bin can probably pick this up and make a profit at GameStop. Maybe. If this whole video game thing doesn’t work out for Dark Sector, I suppose it has a future as currency. Maybe we can replace the dime with the Dark Sector disc. Of course, that would make buying a a bag of chips at the vending machine harder and Dark Sector discs would be hard to fit in your back pocket …

APOCALYPSE! DISNEY TO BUY MARVEL: It’s a crazy world when things like this happen. Today, Disney announced that it will be buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Yes, Spider-Man will be working for the Mouse now.

From a video game perspective, having access to all those Marvel characters will help Disney with the guy side of things. Maybe the company can now avoid being known as the maker of all those Hannah Montana and High School Musical games and expand the brand to superhero titles via its Touchstone Pictures label. Quite frankly, I’d take Spider-Man over Turok any day.

BEATLES MONEY: A report in the L.A. Times says that Viacom paid the Beatles rights holders at least $10 million to use the band’s music and likeness in the game. The report also said that the folks who own those rights will be paid $40 million in royalties if all goes as expected.

Those are big numbers, but what’s really interesting is that Viacom may be getting out of the fake plastic instrument business in general. And from the sound of the article, it sounds as if Activision is more than happy to pick up the slack.

GOD OF WAR ON BLU-RAY: If you haven’t had time to play the previous God of War games, you now have no excuse. The PlayStation blog announced that the God of War Collection will be available this holiday season.

You can play the first and second games of the trilogy in 720 HD with a bump to the graphics and trophy support. Then in a couple of months, you’ll be all ready for the epic that will be God of War III. But if you want the full story, I suggest you also play Chains of Olympus to find out why Kratos is so angry all the time.

ROCKSTAR TITLES COMING TO IPHONE: Although Gameloft may have beaten Rockstar to the punch when it comes to open-world crime games on the iPhone, that doesn’t mean the developer is shying away from the platform. Far from it, the team seems up to be throwing its hat in the iPhone ring.

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Little Steven Van Zandt in his first role, that of guitarist for the Boss (Associated Press file photograph)

STEVEN VAN ZANDT, Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist, Tony Soprano’s consigliere and, more recently, creator of the superb Underground Garage radio show and satellite radio stations, was one of several speakers on Friday at SXSW. He bemoaned the degradation of the craft of rock n roll today. He blamed that, more than illegal downloads, for the problems of the music business today.

“Nobody knows how to make records anymore,” Van Zandt said in a Q&A after his speech. He said he thought 95 percent of the music being made today “sucks.” And that you can’t achieve success without serving an apprenticeship as a bar band. While there are certainly a lot of bad performers out there, Van Zandt’s remarks made him sound a little like an out-of-touch oldster.

Here’s a transcript:

Good morning how are we? I see all my people.

Interesting time in our business, is it not?
Now you wish you listened to your parents and went to college, huh?

We are experiencing the biggest changes in 40 years as the main revenue-producing medium switches from the album to, we don’ t know what yet.
Keep in mind that until the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion landed in 1964, the vinyl single ruled what was called the business. it wasn’t exactly the business in truth, it was more like the Wild West with a bunch of freaks, misfits, outcasts, outlaws, entrepreneurs, renegades and hooligans running around making it all up as they went along.Finally in 1967 the Beatles made an album called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band — you can ask your grandfather to borrow his copy — and with that record the album became undeniably king. The difference between 79 cents for a single and $4.95 for an album created a music business.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed we’ve now come full circle back to singles and if you’re wondering what 1962 was like, well you’re looking at it. And if that wasn’t enough to deal with, just to make it interesting, let’s throw in a little worldwide economic holocaust, shall we?

You thought you were having problems a year ago? Heh, those were the good old days.

The truth is it might take a year or two but those things will literally sort themselves out. There will be some revenue model, be it the 360 thing, subscriptions or whatever, and frankly there have been enough boring discussions about the mechanics of our business, already enough to last a lifetime. And as far as the economy, well, Obama’s gonna fix the economy so don’t worry about that.

It’s the third topic I want to look at today. All we ever talk about is the delivery systems for the product, the mechanics, the technology, the infrastructure. I wanna spend just a minute on the topic that never gets discussed in the music business, and that’s the music.

The reason why nobody wants to talk about it, it’s understandable because it mostly sucks. I mean it blows, it’s terrible. It’s (long string of expletives). Who are we kidding here? Nobody’s buying records. No (expletive), they suck.

And I know why. Nobody wants to deal with this but, we have to.
Yeah we are expriencing big changes in the business but more impotrantly, over the last 60 years or so, we have been witnesses to a crisis of craft.

I started to notice this crisis right around the time MTV appeared, not that it’s their fault. One must assume the video was as inevitable as the combustion engine, food preservative, the digital format and all those other horrors of commerce disguised as progress. You could fight it, but you’re better off just adjusting and dealing with it. Save your energy because you’re gonna need it.
And MTV may come back around and save us yet. But more about them later.
Rock n roll is the working class art form. Real rock n roll, traditional rock n roll. The music you hear every week on the Underground Garage and every day on Sirius 25 and XM 59, is equal opportunity, regardless of race, education or how much money you got, since the working class don’t think too much about what is art and what is not. Mostly because they’re too busy working. They spend their time on their craft, the practical useful stuff. So let’s get back to basics for a moment, what is our craft?

Rock n roll had always been a two-part craft, performance and record-making, and that turned into a three-part craft for bands, when songwriting was added after the Beatles changed the world.
That self-contained archetype may have been a temporary blip in the big picture. Recent history started to suggest that the Beatles in that short little period may turn out to be the exception, rather than the new rule.

It was, after all, our renaissance. That approximate 20-year era, from 1951 to 1971, will be studied for hundreds of years to come and still informs everything that today is popular music.

So as to our craft — performance, record-making, songwriting — what happened exactly?

The crisis in performance is, I believe, based on one simple fact. When it started, rock n roll was dance music. One day we stopped dancing to it and started listening to it and it’s been downhill ever since.

We had a purpose, had a specific goal, an intention, a mandate, we made people dance or we did not work, we didn’t not get paid, we were fired, we were homeless. That requires a very different energy. To compel people to get out of their chairs and dance, it’s a working-class energy, not an artistic, intellectual, waiting-around-for-inspiration energy. It’s a get-up, go-to-work-and-kill energy. Rip it up, or die trying.

The advent of the video was just the final nail in the performance coffin, a coffin that had already been constructed by years of excessive immersion in ganja, hashish and all forms of water-cooled bong therapy. You didn’t have to make people dance anymore, they were too stoned to dance.
Now you didn’t even have to play your instrument anymore. All you had to do was act like a rock star and bada-bing you were a rock star.

Well now, there’s a new trend that’s even more dangerous, and this affects songwriting as well as performance. Bands are starting to skip the bar-band phase of their development and I’m seeing it all over the world. The club stage, where ideally you’re still a dance band.

But equally important, you get the opportunity to play other people’s songs, your favorite songs. Analyze them, understand them. All of a sudden, I’m hearing it’s not cool to play other people’s songs. That’s for the less gifted, you know, the losers. That thinking has been extended now to include anybody’s songs, you know any songs that didn’t come from your personal musical genius.

This is a major problem. Performance-wise, the energy you discover, manufacture and harness as a dance band stays with you for the rest of your life. You never lose that. And the analysis you must do while learning to play classic songs is how you learn how to write. The melody, this melody with that chord change, produces this effect. It’s how you learn to arrange. The verses go here, the bridge there, it’s how you learn the specific job of each instrument.

You learn greatness from greatness. Nobody is a born great performer, nobody is born a great songwriter. The Beatles were a club and bar band for five years, and then continued playing covers for five albums, the Stones did about three years and their first five albums. All of a sudden, we think we’re better than them?

Another nefarious infection regarding modern songwriting is the auteur theory, which means the person singing has to be the person writing or else it’s irrelevant. This became dominant as rock n roll became the art form of rock. Beginning in 1965, it was the year the Beatles, the Stones, the Byrds and Bob Dylan influenced each other right into a new art form. Suddenly rock was personal.

It was important, and an industry of journalists sprang up to explain it to us. And that was, and is, great, except an inaccurate balance was created between the post-art-form rock and the pre-art-form rock, keeping in mind that the art-form rock was only the last quarter of the renaissance.

It was born in the folk-rock era, continued through psychedelic, country-rock, and into hard rock and the singer-songwriter era, where an inaccurate emphasis on the importance of the self-contained artist has led to the ocean of mediocrity we’re drowning in today.

Journalists work in words, they love words, they are words, so it’s perfectly understandable they labor under the misconception that lyrics are the most important part of the song. They are not and let’s keep in mind, there are of course, major journalist exceptions. The two best rock n roll books are after all Nick Tosches’ “Hellfire,” the Jerry Lee Lewis story, and Dave Marsh’s “Louie Louie,” both about pre-art-form rock and, don’t get me wrong, great lyrics make a song better. I made five political albums and spent months on the lyrics. Just don’t think that’s why people are coming to see your band. Because that is not enough reason. Bob Dylan is the greatest lyric writer that will ever live, but if he wasn’t a great singer and wasn’t able to write, or in the early days steal, great melodies, he’d still be in the Village at Cafe Wha.

The problem with this imbalance is that singers who don’t write or write about the correct subjects,
aren’t taken seriously. And it’s true, in spite of Elvis and Sinatra.

The 15 years of pre-art-form lyrics may not seem as important or meaningful in a social and political way, but as a 13-year-old hearing the super sexy Judy Craig and the Chiffons sing Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry’s “I Have a Boyfriend,” don’t tell me that wasn’t important. More than anything else in the world, I wanted to be that boyfriend. I still do. That was my “Blowing in the Wind,” my “Day in the Life,” or “Sympathy for the Devil,” absolutely. If you wanna write, then learn how to do it.

As one of the great song publishers, like Lance Freed, who were always encouraging young songwriters to co-write with older ones, said, just like it’s important to perform with a purpose, it is equally important to write with a purpose. Whether that purpose is to express your most personal anguish or to simply have a hit record, if you’re gonna do it, do it right.

The third part of our craft is record-making and that discipline has almost completely disappeared.
A record is four things: composition, arrangement, performance and sound. Four different crafts, overseen by a producer, who understands, to some degree, all four elements, plus the big picture of the industry, plus the psychological stuff, being the artist’s psychiatrist, plus the liaison with the business people etc., etc.

Where are they? Where are the real producers, the arrangers, the point being, once upon a time it took an army of very talented people to make records: writers, singers, musicians producers, arrangers, engineers. Now you have to do it all yourself? No wonder everything sucks.

Well, when the major record companies abandoned development, DIY was born, do it yourself. And the auteur theory works well with DIY anyway, so why not?

Well there is one reason why not. Everybody isn’t a star. Everybody isn’t a songwriter, isn’t a singer, isn’t a performer, isn’t a record producer. But who is there to tell them these days, who’s there to help, who’s there to suggest a different direction, to teach, to impose discipline?

Even the majors are starting to adjust, and I hope they succeed because right now in this new paradigm they are useless to us as banks. There’s nowhere to spend their money anymore.
It’s very encouraging and impressive that they stuck with MGMT for 18 months for instance, before it broke. Maybe they look back and learn from Steve Popovich, who stuck with Meat Loaf for over a year, when no one was interested. You know a little bit of this long-term patience is nice to see.
But mostly the majors have passed the creative stuff off to the production companies. There’s nobody home artistically. You know, they can still find a record, and occasionally break one, but they’re gonna have trouble with the second one, because nobody in the company knows how they made the first one.

There’s no development, there’s no long-term thinking, so, as usual, it’s up to the indies, right?
But indies, whoever it is, better establish a new work ethic, better find some new patience, better get back to the basics, and better be qualified to go the distance.

Standards have been set. The standards have been set by Sam Phillips, Leonard Chess, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Berry Gordy. You wanna be in the record business, those are the standards we must live up to. We must introduce, re-introduce, a new dedication to the craft. And worry about the new technology and the art later.

There hasn’t been much news since the Harmonix-helmed Beatles game was been announced in October. And Beatle fans have been looking for any scrap of information. Well, the latest comes from one of the band members courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.… Continue Reading →

Well, the latest comes from one of the band members courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. Here’s what Paul McCartney said on the upcoming game:

QUESTION:Can you tell me about this special Beatles edition of the Rock Band game that’s coming out this fall?
ANSWER: It will feature different periods of the band — you get early days, Liverpool, then psychedelic, and on from there. It’s very cool. And I like the idea that the game introduces kids to music, you know?

I’ve never been a huge Beatles fan, but perhaps, the video game can make me one. It’s what these video games are good at. Guitar Hero and Rock Band have led me to pick up some songs on iTunes …

“The Spirit of Lennon”
As a member of the Sun Kings, Drew Harrison has been paying tribute to the Beatles for years. This time around, however, heâ€™s focusing just on John Lennon, with the show â€œIn the Spirit of Lennon.â€
7 p.m., Little Fox, 2209 Broadway, Redwood City, $12-$14, 650-369-4119, www.foxdream.com.

In honor of this election year, I am looking back at the 25 greatest protest songs of all time. Iâ€™m starting with No. 25 and working my way up. Note: Each artist was only eligible to have one song make… Continue Reading →

In honor of this election year, I am looking back at the 25 greatest protest songs of all time. Iâ€™m starting with No. 25 and working my way up. Note: Each artist was only eligible to have one song make the list. To read past entries on this list, click here.

19, â€œRevolution,â€ the Beatles (1968)
The Fab Fourâ€™s first truly overt political anthem, originally released as the B-side on the â€œHey Judeâ€ single, was a carefully constructed cry for change through peaceful measures, a theme that lyricist John Lennon would further mine with 1969â€™s â€œGive Peace a Chance.â€ The song still sounds revolutionary today, despite its dubious distinction as being the first Beatles cut to be used in an advertising campaign.Video (something a bit different)

]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/10/13/best-protest-songs-no-19-revolution-the-beatles/feed/7The BeatlesRock Band, Guitar Hero trying to snag Beatleshttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/06/23/rock-band-guitar-hero-try-to-snag-beatles/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/06/23/rock-band-guitar-hero-try-to-snag-beatles/#commentsMon, 23 Jun 2008 17:54:53 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/videogames/?p=591The Beatles are in talks with Activision and MTV Games about a possibility of bringing some their tracks to the respective video game franchises — Guitar Hero and Rock Band. According to the Financial Times reports, representatives want to “create… Continue Reading →

]]>The Beatles are in talks with Activision and MTV Games about a possibility of bringing some their tracks to the respective video game franchises — Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

According to the Financial Times reports, representatives want to “create a Beatles-themed video game in a move that could pave the way for a broader licensing of the Fab Four’s catalogue.”

I know that sounds great right? Don’t you want to play “Help!” or “Ticket to Ride” on your plastic guitar? Well, players shouldn’t their breath. Any deal would have to go through Apple Corps and EMI, and both move excruciatingly slow to approve anything.

By the time, the Beatles music make it to a video game, we’ll be on the 10th generation of Guitar Hero/Rock Band, and we’ll probably be playing on the PlayStation 9.

For more information check the Ticketmaster Website at: www.ticketmaster.com
Ticketmaster strives to provide correct and current information, however, performers, dates, times and prices are subject to change.

Amy Winehouse tried to go to the Grammys, but the government said “no no no.â€™â€™ Visa problems stopped the controversial Brit _ best known for living up to her hit single “Rehabâ€™â€™ _ from actually attending the 50th Grammy Awards.… Continue Reading →

Amy Winehouse tried to go to the Grammys, but the government said “no no no.â€™â€™

Visa problems stopped the controversial Brit _ best known for living up to her hit single “Rehabâ€™â€™ _ from actually attending the 50th Grammy Awards. Yet, nothing could stop her from having a huge night on Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Winehouse nabbed the most trophies of anyone, winning five of the six categories she was nominated in, including a triumph over Oaklandâ€™s own R&B-jazz sensation Ledisi in the hotly contested Best New Artist field. Her song “Rehabâ€™â€™ won for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Performance and its parent album, “Back to Black,â€™â€™ scored Best Pop Vocal Album.

Kanye West was the other big winner during “musicâ€™s biggest night,â€™â€™ an evening that some had speculated might be canceled due to the Hollywood writersâ€™ strike. Fortunately, the writers agreed not to picket the Grammys and West was able to properly celebrate his victories. The hip-hop star aced four of the five rap categories _ Best Rap Solo Performance, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album. It could have been a clean sweep of the genre, but Rihanna and Jay-Zâ€™s “Umbrellaâ€™â€™ beat out West for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

West, however, was once again shut down in the race for Album of the Year. He was the heavy favorite in that category, since he also lost Album of the Year in 2005 (for “The College Dropoutâ€™â€™) and 2006 (“Late Registrationâ€™â€™) and it was assumed voters would reward him for his continued excellence this year. Winehouseâ€™s “Back to Blackâ€™â€™ was considered a strong contender as well. Instead, however, they gave it to Herbie Hancockâ€™s “River: The Joni Lettersâ€™â€™ _ marking the first time in 43 years that a jazz artist won the top award.

West and Winehouse, however, did deliver two of the eventâ€™s best performances. West combined with Daft Punk to put on a visually stunning version of the Grammy-winning “Stronger,â€™â€™ during which the rapper wore a spacey suit with glow-in-the-dark sunglasses and sang amid bursts of pyrotechnics, and then followed with a touching take on “Hey Mama.â€™â€™

Winehouse performed via satellite from London and wowed the assembled masses with renditions of “You Know Iâ€™m No Goodâ€™â€™ and “Rehab.â€™â€™ The British singer was originally scheduled to appear live in Los Angeles, but she was apparently judged to be a risk to national security. Her visa was denied, reportedly, for her “use and abuse of narcotics.â€™â€™ It was later approved, but not in time for her to make it to L.A. for the event. (Thank goodness that our government is spending millions to keep us safe from partying rock stars and juiced-up baseball players. We can all sleep safely now.)

Other notable winners among the 110 Grammy categories included Bruce Springsteen, who nabbed three awards in the rock field, and the Foo Fighters, who scored twice, also in the rock field.

In all, it was one of most diverse nights for music in Grammy history. This yearâ€™s batch of nominations in the biggie categories _ the four “general fieldâ€™â€™ competitions _ drew from several major genres. Most significantly, the top prize, Album of the Year, was a fight between country (Vince Gillâ€™s “These Daysâ€™â€™), rock (the Foo Fighterâ€™s “`Echoes, Silence, Patience and Graceâ€™â€™), pop (Winehouseâ€™s “Back to Blackâ€™â€™), rap (Westâ€™s “Graduationâ€™â€™) and jazz (Herbie Hancockâ€™s “River: The Joni Lettersâ€™â€™).

Interesting, all five of the Album of the Year nominees won in their respective genre-specific categories (Hancockâ€™s “Riverâ€™â€™ won Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Gillâ€™s “Daysâ€™â€™ took Best Country Album, etc.).

As delightfully diverse as the Album of the Year category was this year, it would take some time for that kind of musical variety to have an impact on the actual show. At first, it seemed like we were just watching the Alicia Keys show.

The soul singer led off the show with her own performance and then stuck around to welcome the crowd and introduce the next act, Carrie Underwood. Prince was the third star to take the stage, wearing a decidedly un-purple red suit, and he gave out the first award, for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The recipient was _ you guessed it! _ Keys. The show was barely 10 minutes old, yet Keys had already nabbed more Grammy airtime than some major acts score during entire careers.

To her credit, Keyâ€™s Grammy opening performance was one of the showâ€™s finest musical moments. The vocalist-pianist performed a sentimental duet with Frank Sinatra on “Learning the Blues.â€™â€™ Keys performed in person, while the Chairman of the Board was shown via skillfully edited archival video footage. That technologically-enhanced trick is a Grammy favorite _ the most memorable occurrence came back in 1992, when Nat King Cole would perform a posthumous duet with daughter Natalie on “Unforgettableâ€™â€™ _ and the trick still works in 2008. (Keys wouldnâ€™t fair quite so well later in the show when she joined with pop star John Mayer on “No One.â€™â€™)

Overall, the performances were mostly solid _ and, at times, spectacular. On a purely musical note, nothing topped the dual piano work of jazz giant Hancock and classical child prodigy Lang Lang on George Gershwinâ€™s epic “Rhapsody in Blue.â€™â€™ What a triumphant moment _ the embrace between the two men at the end of the piece said it all. The biggest crowd pleaser, however, had to have been the pairing of Beyonce and Tina Turner early in the show.

The much ballyhooed Time reunion, marking the first time the bandâ€™s original members had performed together in 15 years, also lived up to the hype. The old-school funk group was joined by new-school R&B star Rihanna, who added her vocal talent and other charms to the mix. Also, it was a nice bit of synergy to have a woman known for the song “Umbrellaâ€™â€™ perform with a band known for the film “Purple Rain.â€™â€™

The Grammysâ€™ track record with Beatlesâ€™ tributes has been, to be generous, inconsistent. There have been some great moments (such as when Dave Matthews, Vince Gill, Sting and Pharrell Williams combined forces on a rollicking version of “I Saw Her Standing Thereâ€™â€™ in 2004) and some shoddy showings (Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Sir Paul McCartney himself demolish “Yesterdayâ€™â€™ in 2006). The one early in the show that featured the combined casts of Cirque Du Soleilâ€™s “Loveâ€™â€™ and the film “Across the Universeâ€™â€™ (both Beatles-themed artistic statements) fell somewhere right in the middle.

Thereâ€™s only one sure bet for this yearâ€™s Grammy Awards: Itâ€™s going to be more fun to watch than the Golden Globes. The union for striking Hollywood writers, which forced the cancellation of the Golden Globes gala, has decided to… Continue Reading →

The union for striking Hollywood writers, which forced the cancellation of the Golden Globes gala, has decided to spare the Grammys from the picket lines. Thus, the show will be shown at 8 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 10th) on CBS, broadcast from Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Thatâ€™s good news, since it would have been a shame to cancel the 50th annual Grammy Awards. In honor of the milestone anniversary, weâ€™ve decided to look back at 50 big moments in Grammy history. Weâ€™ve collected up the milestone victories and the most memorable performances, as well as the Grammy goofs (like Milli Vanilliâ€™s victory as Best New Artist in 1990) and other lowlights. All of these moments, both good and bad, have combined to define whatâ€™s become musicâ€™s biggest night.

Please note that these memories are listed chronologically, as opposed to using a ranking system. Also, weâ€™re sure that weâ€™ve forgotten a few of the top moments _ 50 years, after all, is a lot of ground to cover _ so please help us out. Please post your top Grammy memories below.

1, Just for laughs
Music takes a back seat as comedian Bob Newhart wins Best New Artist and Album of the Year (for “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhartâ€™â€™) in 1961. It was not the only time that a comedic offering would score Album of the Year _ Phil Collinsâ€™ “No Jacket Requiredâ€™â€™ would also win in 1986.

2, Celebrating a life
The very first Lifetime Achievement Grammy was given out in 1962 to a well-deserving Bing Crosby. By the time the trophy was given out again, in 1965 to Frank Sinatra, it was officially known as the Bing Crosby Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

3, Vaudeville act
Grammy voters get it wrong at least as often as they get it right. In hindsight, one of the earliest major flubs was when they picked the New Vaudeville Bandâ€™s novelty hit “Winchester Cathedralâ€™â€™ for Best Contemporary R&B recording in 1966. What else was nominated? Only five of the best songs in pop-music history _ the Beach Boysâ€™ “Good Vibrations,â€™â€™ the Association’s “Cherish,â€™â€™ the Mamas and the Papaâ€™s “Monday Monday,â€™â€™ the Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksvilleâ€™â€™ and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.â€™â€™

4, Beatlemania
A rock platter finally wins for Album of the Year in 1968. Grammy voters were late in catching up with the times (a trend that continues to this day), but they certainly picked a good one to start with _ the Beatlesâ€™ “Sgt. Pepperâ€™s Lonely Hearts Club Band.â€™â€™

5, A true Wonder
Stevie Wonder owned the â€˜70s like no other, at least according to Grammy voters. He won the most coveted of all trophies, Album of the Year, for three consecutive releases _ “Innervisionsâ€™â€™ (1974), “Fulfillingnessâ€™ First Finaleâ€™â€™ (1975) and “Songs in the Key of Lifeâ€™â€™ (1977). It was such a Grammy dynasty that when Paul Simon picked up the award in 1976, for “Still Crazy After All These Years,â€™â€™ he thanked Wonder for not releasing a record that year.

6, Itâ€™s a tie
For the only time in Grammy history, the Song of the Year category ends in a tie and two trophies are given out in 1978, to Barbra Streisandâ€™s “Evergreenâ€™â€™ and Debby Booneâ€™s “You Light Up My Life.â€™â€™ And, really, who could pick between those two?

7, Taste of success
In 1979, A Taste of Honey passed the Cars and Elvis Costello to win Best New Artist. A Taste of Honey, of course, is still known today for the single “Boogie Oogie Oogie,â€™â€™ while the Cars and Costello havenâ€™t been heard of since.

8, Bringing the `Flowersâ€™
Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand had each recorded separate versions of “You Donâ€™t Bring Me Flowers,â€™â€™ before (legend has it) a DJ had the bright idea to mash the two renditions into a single duet. The first time the dynamic duo would sing the song live together was at the Grammys in 1980.

9, One big night
In 1981, Christopher Cross became the first (and still only) artist to win the so-called “Big Fourâ€™â€™ (Record, Album and Song of the year, as well as Best New Artist) in one single year. He also took home the Oscar that year for Best Original Song (“Arthurâ€™s Themeâ€™â€™).

10, Eight hands
In 1983, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and (get this) Count Basie sit down at four pianos and deliver what is arguably the most legendary of all Grammy performances.

11, Toto rules
In 1983, Toto triumphed over Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Joe Jackson and Willie Nelson _ all, obviously, lesser talents in Grammy votersâ€™ eyes _ to win Record of the Year for “Rosanna.â€™â€™ It was one of six awards Toto would win that night.

12, Marvin, Marvin
Marvin Gayeâ€™s comeback was capped off when he won his first-ever Grammys for the song “Sexual Healingâ€™â€™ in 1983. He sang a knock-out version of that hit at the award show. Sadly, it would be one of his final performances _ he was murdered on April 1, 1984.

13, Rhyminâ€™ Simon
Paul Simon caps off a big Grammy night in 1987_ which included winning the biggie, Album of the Year, for “Gracelandâ€™â€™ _ with a great rendition of “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.â€™â€™ The disc (recorded mainly in South Africa), as well as the Grammy performance, helps shine a light on the issue of apartheid.

14, Thick as a Brick
The inaugural Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance was given out in 1989 and, to the shock of head-bangers everywhere, it went to Jethro Tull. That band, best known for its flute work, beat out the heavily favored Metallica. Fans booed and the Grammy folks wisely split Hard Rock and Metal into two categories for 1990.

15, Public embarrassment
Grammy organizers obviously didnâ€™t do much homework when they added the inaugural rap category in 1989. The first award was presented to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince for the family-friendly “Parents Just Donâ€™t Understand.â€™â€™ That victory quickly became a joke in the hip-hop community, which was clearly rooting for Public Enemyâ€™s ground-breaking “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.â€™â€™

16, Grammy whammy
Milli Vanilli beat out the Indigo Girls and three other hopefuls (all of whom have since faded away) to snag Best New Artist in 1990. The award was later revoked after it was discovered that the bandâ€™s so-called vocalists did not actually sing on their tracks.

17, Not quite Nirvana
In the early â€˜90s, something was brewing in the Pacific Northwest _ a little something called grunge _ and Grammy voters chose to ignore its presence. Eligible for consideration for Album of the Year in 1992 were Nirvanaâ€™s “Nevermindâ€™â€™ and Pearl Jamâ€™s “Tenâ€™â€™ _ two of the best discs of the decade _ and neither received a nomination. In their place were offerings by Amy Grant and Natalie Cole.

18, Unforgettable?
Nearly 30 years after his death, the great Nat King Cole would garner Grammy gold in 1992. Thanks to the miracles of modern recording sciences, his posthumous duet with daughter Natalie on “Unforgettableâ€™â€™ nabbed three trophies, including for song and record of the year. The Coles would also perform the song “liveâ€™â€™ at the show.

19, Nice tip
The best slam _ out of many _ against the Grammys came in the fifth season of the “The Simpsonsâ€™â€™(aired in 1993), when Homerâ€™s Barbershop Quartet won a trophy for “Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year.â€™â€™ He would later use the award as a tip for room service.

20, People Get Ready
The great Curtis Mayfield gets his due during an all-star tribute in 1994. The medley of Mayfield hits features Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Winwood and, best of all, B.B. King.

21, We once loved you
These days, we turn the song off as soon it comes on the radio and laugh with the comedians that tell jokes at the singerâ€™s expense. Yet, there was a time when Whitney Houston and “I Will Always Love Youâ€™â€™ were all the rage. The time capsule proof comes from her amazing performance of that tune at the 1994 Grammys.

22, From the `Streetsâ€™
Bruce Springsteen delivered his most memorable Grammy moment when he sang a chilling version of “Streets of Philadelphiaâ€™â€™ in 1995. The track (featured in the Jonathan Demme film, “Philadelphiaâ€™â€™) would go on to win four Grammys, including for Song of the Year, as well as the Oscar for Best Original Song.

23, Bad `Voodooâ€™
Despite earning Lifetime Achievement recognition in 1986, the Rolling Stones wouldnâ€™t win an actual trophy until 1995, when it would pick up two trophies for “Voodoo Lounge.â€™â€™ Talk about belated recognition _ didnâ€™t voters listen to the “Exile on Main St.â€™â€™ or “Let It Bleedâ€™â€™ records?

24, Grammy king
Sir Georg Solti, the conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has been nominated for more than 100 Grammys and heâ€™s won a record 38. In 1996, he was rewarded with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

25, Celine supreme
Grammy voters have made plenty of choices that have made hipsters cringe, but none more so than when they picked Celine Dionâ€™s “Falling Into You,â€™â€™ over superb offerings by Beck, the Fugees and Smashing Pumpkins, for Album of the Year in 1997.

26, La Grammy loca
Ricky Martin was already a mega-star in the Spanish-language music world by the time he graced the Grammy stage in 1997. The rest of the planet would catch on as well after Martin wowed the mostly unfamiliar crowd at Madison Square Garden with his great dance tune “La Copa de la Vida.â€™â€™

27, Queen of Opera-Soul?
Luciano Pavarotti won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 and was scheduled to sing at the show. Yet, he had to cancel, due to illness. In steps Aretha Franklin and the Queen of Soul surprises opera fans everywhere with a sensational version of the aria “Nessun Dorma.â€™â€™

28, That Bastard!
Olâ€™ Dirty Bastard caused a scene in 1998 when he stormed the stage during an acceptance speech by folk star Shawn Colvin. O.D.B. was irked that his band, Wu-Tang Clan, had lost for Best Rap Album earlier in the night. He justified his action with a statement that has since become legendary: “Wu-Tang is for the children.â€™â€™

29, Wowza!
Shania Twain sends sales for big-screen TVs to the stratosphere when she appears in a fabulously sexy short, tight dress to sing “Man, I Feel Like a Womanâ€™â€™ in 1999. One day later, men could be heard around office water coolers misquoting the songâ€™s title _ “Man, Iâ€™d like to feel that woman.â€™â€™

30, Hip-hop hooray!
Hip-hop finally gets the official endorsement from Grammy voters in 1999 when “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hillâ€™â€™ wins five awards, including for Album of the Year. Hill would never reach the heights of “Miseducationâ€™â€™ again _ in fact, nearly 10 years later, we are still waiting for the follow-up studio record.

31, Hometown hero
The Bay Areaâ€™s own Carlos Santana would cap off his hugely successful _ and, some would say, equally improbable _ comeback with one heck of a Grammy night in 2000. The mega-platinum “Supernaturalâ€™â€™ would carry Santana to eight victories, which tied Michael Jackson for the most awards won by a single artist in one year.

32, Yes, more
Having been through plenty of drama in her life, Mary J. Blige delivers a career-defining moment, one that would solidify her reputation as “The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,â€™â€™ with her performance of “No More Dramaâ€™â€™ in 2001.

33, Shady union
Forget about Dre _ Eminemâ€™s most memorable collaboration came when the rapper combined with Elton John on the song “Stanâ€™â€™ in 2001. This show of support from the openly gay celeb basically muzzled protests from some members of the gay community, who understandably didnâ€™t care for Slim Shadyâ€™s allegedly homophobic lyrics.

34, Bakerâ€™s dozen
By 2001, Shelby Lynne was already a savvy veteran of the music business, having released six albums in 13 years. That didnâ€™t stop Grammy voters, who obviously donâ€™t get around much, from voting her Best New Artist.

35, Techno blues
Moby calls upon vocalist Jill Scott (with possibly the worst hairdo in Grammy history) and the eccentric percussion-driven Blue Man Group for an electrifying version of “Natural Bluesâ€™â€™ in 2001. The performance caused such a sensation that, after the show, people actually stopped confusing Moby with Michael Stipe.

36, Where were you?
With the nation still reeling from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, country crooner Alan Jackson took the stage in 2002 and leaves nary a dry eye in the house when he sang his touching response to that terrible day, “Where Were You.â€™â€™

37, Strollinâ€™ `Moulin Rouge!â€™
Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink sing their cover of “Lady Marmalade,â€™â€™ from the “Moulin Rouge!â€™â€™ soundtrack, in 2002. The highlight of the performance occurred when Patti LaBelle _ who originally scored a No. 1 hit with the song in 1975 _ made a surprise guest appearance and quickly outclassed everyone else onstage.

38, O Brother!
For one night, old-timey music ruled supreme as the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?â€™â€™ soundtrack was the surprise success story of the 2002 Grammys. The biggest upset was its win over records by Bob Dylan, U2 and OutKast for Album of the Year.

39, Culture Clash
In 2003, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Elvis Costello lead a rousing all-star tribute to the Clashâ€™s Joe Strummer, who died the year prior. The trio trades vocals on a great version of “London Callingâ€™â€™ that properly honors Strummerâ€™s legacy.

40, Troubled Waters
Simon and Garfunkel went a decade without so much as exchanging a Christmas card, yet they bridged the troubled waters to perform a version of “The Sounds of Silenceâ€™â€™ in 2003. Unfortunately, they kept right on talking and later launched one of the worst reunion tours of the 21st century.

41, Sore loser
Pulling a page from O.D.B.â€™s book, 50 Cent bum rushed the stage after losing to Evanescence in 2004 for Best New Artist. He grabbed the Grammy, yet the guys in Evanescence didnâ€™t try to deck the rapper. That makes sense _ 50â€™s built like a truck.

42, Fab song
Dave Matthews, Vince Gill, Sting and Pharrell Williams (on drums!) combine forces on a rollicking version of “I Saw Her Standing Thereâ€™â€™ during a Beatles tribute at the 2004 Grammys _ exactly 40 years, to the day, from when the Fab Four made its debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show.â€™â€™

43, Welcome back
In 2004, Prince pairs with Beyonce for a show-opener that becomes a true show-stopper. The duo performs a killer medley of Prince hits like “Purple Rainâ€™â€™ as well as Beyonceâ€™s smash “Crazy in Love.â€™â€™ Itâ€™s the start of a hugely successful comeback for the Purple One.

44, Come together
More Fab Four fun: Green Dayâ€™s Billie Jo Armstrong, Tim McGraw, Stevie Wonder and other stars share vocals on a poignant rendition of the Beatlesâ€™ “Across the Universeâ€™â€™ in 2005. The rendition is presented in memory of those who lost their lives from the horrible Indian Ocean tsunamis in 2004.

45, Great days
A little bit of Bay bias, for sure, but the â€™05-â€™06 Grammy shows definitely stand out in our minds. The East Bayâ€™s own Green Day won “Best Rock Albumâ€™â€™ for “American Idiotâ€™â€™ in â€™05 and then took home one of the biggies in â€™06, Record of the Year, for the “Americanâ€™â€™-track “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.â€™â€™ It was a triumph for punk-rockers everywhere.

46, Ruining a classic
One of the most unlikely _ and least successful _ collaborations in Grammy history occurred in 2006 when Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Paul McCartney combined on the Beatlesâ€™ “Yesterday.â€™â€™ The song was a spectacular train wreck _ but, hey, they get points for trying.

47, Whistlinâ€™ Dixie
Having endured a firestorm sparked by singer Natalie Mainesâ€™ derogatory comments about President George W. Bush, the Dixie Chicks rise like a phoenix and win all five of their nominated categories in 2007.

48, Laying down the law
Having parted ways following their 1984 world tour, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers reunite as the Police to perform at the 2007 Grammy Awards. The band plays the classic “Roxanneâ€™â€™ and uses the event as a springboard to launch the yearâ€™s top reunion tour.

49, Womanâ€™s world
Seven years after naming Christina Aguilera as Best New Artist _ over that yearâ€™s favorite, Britney Spears _ Grammy voters were looking pretty wise in 2007. While Brit continued her reign as a tabloid queen, Aguilera showed the world how sheâ€™s matured into an incredible vocalist with her performance of James Brownâ€™s “Itâ€™s a Manâ€™s Manâ€™s Manâ€™s World.â€™â€™ Indeed, that awesome rendition ranks as our pick for the top solo vocal performance in Grammy history.

50, Who knows?
What will be the memorable event at the 50th Grammy Awards? Youâ€™ll just have to tune in to find out.